Jesse Jackson Jr. 30-Month Sentence Issued

Today, former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. was given a 30-month sentence in prison plus three years of supervised release for misspending about $750,000 in campaign funds.

Jackson, the son of the civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, has requested to serve his time at a federal prison near Washington, D.C. His wife, Sandra, was also sentenced Wednesday to one year in prison and ordered to pay $22,000 in restitution. She has pleaded guilty to a related charge of filing false tax returns.

Both Jacksons wept in court as they addressed the judge before sentencing.

Jackson Jr. apologized for his crimes and expressed special regrets to his mother and father.

“Your honor, throughout this process I’ve asked the government and the court to hold me and only me accountable for my actions,” he said.

When Jackson Jr. spoke, he voice was firm except for the few times he wept openly and paused to dry his eyes with tissue, blow his nose and collect himself.

“I am the example for the whole Congress,” he said. “I understand that. I didn’t separate my personal life from my political activities, and I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

Talking about his desire to be sent to a federal prison camp in Alabama, he said: “I want to make it a little inconvenient for everybody to get to me.”

He said he hoped that his wife could earn enough money in his absence to keep the family together. “When I get back, I’ll take on that burden,” Jackson Jr. said. “By then I hope my children will be old enough that the pain I caused will be easier to bear.”